Saturday, August 03, 2013 11:59 pm

WikiLeaks founder proud of Australian support

The Associated Press

WikiLeaks founder and Australian Senate candidate Julian Assange says he is proud of the level of support he enjoys in his home country weeks ahead of federal elections.

The 42-year-old fugitive told Ten Network television in an interview filmed in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London and broadcast in Australia on Sunday that his popularity demonstrated by a recent opinion poll reflected poorly on the ruling Labor Party. The government staunchly supports the U.S. condemnation of WikiLeaks' disclosure of hundreds of thousands of classified documents.

A national survey by Sydney-based UMR Research found in April that 26 percent of Australian voters said they were likely to vote for Assange or other candidates running for his WikiLeaks Party at national elections that could be held as soon as Sept. 7.